When
the space shuttle Discovery lifts off on its final mission, it will have a
small LEGO version of itself onboard to help launch a new partnership between
the Denmark-based toy company and NASA.

The
7-inch long LEGO shuttle, which was assembled
from about 60 of the iconic toy pieces, gives new meaning to the term
"flying brick" as popularly used to describe the real shuttle given
that it returns to Earth as a very heavy unpowered glider.

According
to NASA, the snap-together shuttle may make a brief appearance in space during Discovery's STS-133 mission, scheduled to
launch today (Nov. 5) at 3:04 p.m. EDT (1904 GMT), and will then be brought
back to Earth for use by LEGO in educational activities.

"Our
partnership will continue on [STS-134], scheduled for February, when we'll be
sending LEGO kits aloft and we'll be doing education outreach with students on
the ground," said NASA spokeswoman Ann Marie Trotta.

Classroom
of space

"We
are going to use the classroom of space -- the International Space Station -- to
help the next generation of explorers," explained Leland Melvin, a former
astronaut who last month was appointed as NASA's new associate administrator
for education.

"We'll
be doing different activities, building demonstrations and then demonstrations
with the models once they are built," added Debbie Biggs, an education
specialist for the ISS National Lab education projects office.

More
than a dozen LEGO building activities will be flown to the station over the
next two years. The first three will launch with STS-134, shuttle Endeavour's
final mission.

"The
first set is actually just a workbench, it has pegs to help us control [the
bricks]," Biggs told collectSPACE.com. "There is a space
shuttle set and then there are two kits that are the space station."

The
LEGO shuttle kit that will be aboard STS-134 builds a bigger model than the
STS-133 toy. It features a payload bay that opens and reveals a satellite. The
space station, which recreates the modules, solar array wings and truss
segments on the real station, will fly as two kits due to its large size.

The
shuttle and station kits are slated to be released for sale to the public in
2011 as part of the LEGO City line of toys.

An
experiential opportunity

Once
delivered to the station, astronaut Catherine "Cady" Coleman will be
the first to attempt building the LEGO models, based on special training she is
receiving now on the ground.

"She
has the first three kits with her right now and her 10-year-old son is training
her on how to use them," said Biggs with a smile.

Melvin,
who last flew in space in November 2009, expects the weightless environment to
slow Coleman's progress building the toys in space.

"If
you are trying to duplicate what a child has done on the ground in a one-G
environment, it can definitely be done but the question is how long it will
take," said Melvin.

This
is not the first time that LEGO products have flown in space or have been
themed around the space program. LEGO has produced space-related sets since
1973 and most recently, two astronaut minifigures "hitched a ride"
with the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity that arrived at the red planet in
2004.

Setting
this new partnership apart is the focus on science, technology, engineering and
math, or STEM, disciplines. By using the toys and their construction in space,
NASA and LEGO hope to encourage children to take a greater interest in
engineering and design principles.

"We
need something that they can hold in their hand to have an experiential
opportunity," said Melvin, explaining why the LEGO brick sets were the
"perfect fit" for NASA's STEM educational outreach goals.

"We
did not have the good fortune to have LEGO bricks on our [STS-129] mission, but
I am glad that STS-133 and follow-on STS-134 will have the opportunity to take
these building blocks," said Melvin. "I can't wait to start playing
with my LEGOs."